I'm in the process of building an 04 Arctic Cat 50. The problem with this quad is when you shoot the gas to it, it comes out of the hole like a rocket , but then it will only go so fast which isn't very fast at all. I read on one of these forums somewhere, where someone said that Arctic Cat had some sort of restrictor on the variator so it wouldn't go to fast. We are going to put a clutch mod kit in the transmission, will the kit take care of this problem or do I need to do something else. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I need to get this problem fixed. His first race of the season is in 2 weeks. Mike

 

Sounds like the variator weights are too light, or you do not have the belt installed properly, most likely a weight problem though. You would need to go with heavier weights. You will lose the low end pull, but gain top speed. Hopefully the person that is sending you the clutch mods will know what is going on and send you the correct weights as well. The heavier the weight, the more top speed and less bottom end torque, and vice versa. The key is getting the variator weights to work properly with the clutch springs in the rear and the power band of the motor, cluth tuning. Not something that is easy to do, so hopefully, again, the person that is sending you these parts knows what he/she is doing.

 

The quad is brand new. It runs great,but the top speed is only about 10 mph. Arctic Cat puts three restrictors on these quads, I was told in here. 1 is the brass restrictor in the carb slide,2 a 50 tooth sprocket in the rear, and 3 is 2 brass washers in the variator in the clutch system. They said the washers in the variator kept the belt from riding higher on the variator. I was wanting to remove them,but I don't know exactly where they are and what they look like.

 

You are correct, I read in another forum about the restrictors in the variator. You will need to pull the kick starter (just the part on the outside - one bolt), then pull the CVT cover (dry inside). The variator weights and the restrictor plate are going to be located in the front of the CVT on the engine side. You need to remove the whole front variator and the belt. The weights and the restrictor plate will be sandwiched between two "plates" on the engine side. You should be able to tell what the restrictors are (washers), as they will not allow the weights to roll to the top of the plate. Remove the washers and reassemble. It is easiest to use an impact wrench to remove and replace the outside nut holding it all together. If oyu do not have one, you can use a strap wrench to hold the variator still. When putting back together, you need to make sure the belt is not making contact with the plates in the front. To achieve this you must spread the rear clutch apart and put the belt in the lowest position to get enough slack for the front. (this can be done with your hands) Also when tightening the front nut, be carefull not to torque it too much, you will strip the brass nut very easily (I did this the first time) Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the tip. I did this. Someone else told me the same thing in another forum. Difference between night and day.

 

BlueTick,

That was me that told you about the restrictors. I forgot about the washer in the intake tube. If you take the rubber sleeve off the carburetor then you can look up into that black tube that runs upunder the seat. Just inside that tube is a washer that is tacked in with two welds. Break the welds and pull it out. Then rejet with a 80 main jet. Or drill the stock one out to a 80. It will run without rejetting it, but over time you'll hurt the engine. Especially if you run it hard.